Quarter notes: SSO concertmaster steps down

Seattle Symphony concertmaster Maria Larionoff plans to step down as the orchestra’s concertmaster at the end of this season. The move isn’t exactly surprising.  Larionoff was picked to be the SSO’s concertmaster after the position went unfilled for a number of years.  She was also one of four concertmasters for a time; an experiment unique to American orchestras. Her selection coincided with the end of the SSO’s rotating concertmaster.

Larionoff plans to stick around Seattle.  She will devote more time to the American Strong Project, teaching, and outreach.  She returns next season to the SSO as the violin soloist for Petris Vask’s violin concerto Distant Light.